MORETOWN, Vt. (AP) - A federal judge has declined to force a Vermont school district to allow voters to decide whether its bylaws should be changed when considering whether to reconfigure schools.
U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions denied the town of Moretown’s request for an injunction, which would have put the question of whether to amend the bylaws to residents within the district, WCAX reported Monday.
In a letter issued last month, the Harwood Unified Union School District notified parents and residents it would reconfigure its six-town district by next school year. The town of Moretown and the Vermont Coalition of Community Schools had argued that it’s too soon and proposed putting a vote to the people to change the district articles of agreement.
Some residents argued the provision within the district that doesn’t allow input from local residents in the closure decision violates their constitutional rights.
The town proposed having the question on the Town Meeting Day that would allow residents to weigh in on the decision to reconfigure schools in the district.
“It needs to happen in time for Town Meeting because we want public participation. More voters are going to come out at Town Meeting, especially during a presidential primary year than would come out for a special meeting,” said Ron Shems, the attorney for the town of Moretown.
The towns will vote on whether to approve the $39 million school budget in March.
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This story has been corrected to show the judge declined an injunction request, not that he declined to intervene, in the lawsuit by a town seeking to change the rules governing how local schools could be closed.
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